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London Buses route 60
London Buses route 60 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Old Coulsdon and Streatham, it is operated by Arriva London. History Route 60 commenced operation on 4 September 1982, initially running on Mondays to Saturdays between Brixton Garage (Streatham Hill, Telford Avenue) and South Croydon Garage, via Streatham Vale and Pollards Hill, replacing route 130 on these days between Streatham Garage and Central Croydon. (Route 130 converted to One Person Operation from the same date and withdrawn over this section on Mondays to Saturdays, although on Sundays it continued to run through to Streatham Garage and beyond to Telford Avenue). Initially operated by Routemasters (RMs) from South Croydon Garage (TC), Route 60 provided work for conductors made redundant from Route 130 (and 130B). However, this was little more than an act of gradual displacement as under the next programme of changes on 23 April 1983, Route 60 was also converted to One-Person Operation (OPO) using DMSs and transferred to Thornton Heath Garage. On 6 January 1990, by which time the service was daily (replacing the Sunday-only Route 130 extension), Route 60 exchanged routing with Route 118 between Streatham Hill Station and Clapham Common. From 21 July 1990, Thornton Heath commenced operation of five routes under tender, including Route 60, resulting in the replacement of the DMS class with 1986/7 L class Leyland Olympians garnered from other garages in the district. Several routes were due to be re-tendered from the summer of 1998, including route 60. The opportunity was taken to reorganise the routings, with route 60 was extended south replacing route 50 beyond Croydon (TC) garage to Purley, Coulsdon and Old Coulsdon in order to restore a link between Coulsdon and the Mayday Hospital off London Road. The section of route north of Streatham Common to Streatham and Clapham Common was transferred to a new route 255. The southwards extension of route 60 also partially replaced route 109, which was cut back from Purley to Croydon. Capital Logistics was due to start operating route 60 from September 1998, however the new low floor buses specified were not ready in time. Stagecoach Selkent had lost work at the same time and was able to step in to operate most of the service. Blue Triangle of Rainham was subcontracted to provide the balance of four buses. This arrangement lasted until 25 January 1999, when Selkent had other commitments in the Bromley and Plumstead areas. It was intended that the route would then be taken on by Horsham based Omnibus London, but two days before this could take place the company announced that it would not be able to cover most of its journeys. An emergency 15-minute frequency timetable was drawn up by Blue Triangle, and the duties were covered by whoever could supply buses and drivers. Companies operating on the route included Blue Triangle, Omnibus London, Stagecoach Selkent, Stagecoach East London, Capital Citybus, Nostalgiabus of Mitcham, Classic Coaches of High Wycombe and Sidney Road Travel of Potters Bar. This continued until 11 March 1999, when Capital Logistics was able to take the route over in full using DAF DB250LFs. Buses were operated from a new base in Commerce Way and the route's frequency restored to every 12 minutes. Route 60 was included in the sale of Capital Logistics to the Status Group, (owner of Tellings-Golden Miller), on 1 June 1999. The new owner was unhappy with the terms of the contract on the route, and withdrew from it in early 2000. The route passed back to Arriva London on 4 March 2000 on an interim basis. On 1 September 2001, route 60 passed to Connex. Brand new Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents were ordered for the route, but a slight delay in their delivery meant that similar buses were hired from Stagecoach Selkent for the first few weeks of operation. Route 60 was included in the sale Connex to Travel London in February 2004. In 2006, it was retained by Arriva London operating from their Croydon (TC) garage using Wright Pulsar Gemini bodied DAF DB250LFs. In April 2009, the reliability of the route was criticised by some residents in Coulsdon. In October of the same year a bus operating on the route was involved in a minor accident in West Croydon. On 31 August 2013, it was retained by Arriva London using Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s. In 2014, the Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s were replaced by Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300s. On 1 September 2018, the route was retained by Arriva London. Current route *Old Coulsdon *Coulsdon *Purley *South Croydon *Croydon *Broad Green *Thornton Heath Pond *Pollards Hill *Streatham Vale *Streatham Common *Streatham External links *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 060, London Buses routes